Mini Golf
by MusicDefinesUsAll
Summary: The first time Spock played a game of mini golf, it took Jim several days of pleading and begging – not to mention the attempts during previous shore leaves on planets that had the game. The Vulcan will never admit that he was intrigued about the game, but he was. (Rated for a swear word.)


**A/N:** This is my first venture into the Star Trek fandom to write, and I hope that I wrote the characters in a believable way. This idea came up when my friend (pumpkinlessidjit) and I were playing mini golf the other day, and I just had to lean over and tell her to imagine Spock playing mini golf, and it went from there. Anyone who is following my Supernatural/Harry Potter story (Blood Doesn't Make Family) who is reading this, I am so sorry for making you wait so long for an update. I have been having a lot of issues with the chapter, and can't seem to get it out in words. I hope to have it out soon, but that's just me hoping that my writing muse has come back to stay with me for at least a few days. Enough of the chatter, and I hope you enjoy this oneshot that I wrote (with very minimal editing), and any sort of critique is appreciated!

* * *

The first time Spock played a game of mini golf, it took Jim several days of pleading and begging – not to mention the attempts during previous shore leaves on planets that had the game. The Vulcan will never admit that he was intrigued about the game, but he was. What finally got him to play was Jim's insistence that he would be able to "use the science and math bullshit" that he loved to attempt a hole in one. Spock just chose to ignore the illogical words added as well as the captain's addition of how playing without making all the calculations makes it a much more fun game to relax. Jim had also asked _begged_ McCoy and several others of the crew to join in, but they all declined in their own special ways.

"But, _Bones_," Jim pleaded. "It will be fun and…"

"There is no way you're gonna get me to stand out in the sun all day and get sunburned just to hit a ball with a metal rod. And don't come crying to me for something to rid you of the sunburn or any other injuries you are bound to get." Bones interrupted what was sure to be a rant detailing why he should join in with this childish game. "I firmly intend to spend this shore leave in peaceful silence in wait for all the idiots to come back with sprained ankles, or worse." McCoy left the hallway where Jim had cornered him in route to the medical bay.

Later that same day Jim had found Uhura before one of their shifts started and decided to ask her if she would join in.

"So, Uhura, what are…"

"No."

"But you don't even know what I'm going to ask you," Jim stopped dead in his tracks with a hurt look on his face.

"Yes, I do. When I was with Doctor McCoy earlier getting the necessary vaccinations for the upcoming shore leave, which you still need to get if his remarks were correct, he warned me that you might be asking us to join you in playing mini golf. And the answer is no. Now, come on. Our shift is about to start, and I don't want to be late." Uhura left it at that and walked away towards the bridge – Jim later realized that he never got an answer as to why she didn't want to play.

When Jim later asked Chekov and Sulu if they were interested, they claimed that they already had plans for the shore leave.

"But when are we going to be on a planet that has a mini golf course after this?"

"I'm sorry, Captain, but we already made plans that we've been looking forward to for a while." Sulu explained to the exasperated captain who was too focused on trying to find _someone_ to play with him that he somehow ignored the possible jabs at the two crewmembers based on what they may or may not have planned.

Next on the list of victims to Jim's pleading found him in engineering with a certain Scotsman who was quick to shoot his offer down.

"'m sorry, Jim, but ah can't jus' leave th' _Enterprise_ at a time when ah can give her several tune ups tha jus' can't be done properly in space." Jim nodded at his Chief Engineer and knew that it would be fruitless to pry Scotty away from the _Enterprise_ at a time when he could be working on her.

That just left Spock as the only one from the main command crew that he had yet to ask. Jim decided to pull the Vulcan aside after they were done with their shift for the time being.

"Hey, Spock, I have a question I want to ask you."

"As you have already told me that you have a question, it is irrelevant to further add that you, to some degree, have a matter to bring up…"

"Spock, it's just an expression." Jim cut in, and Spock filed the moment away in his mind under the slowly growing tag of human qualities that he may never fully understand.

"Very well, what is it that you wish to know?" Spock stood with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Will you come play a game a mini golf with me during shore leave?" electric blue eyes gazed quizzically at his First Officer, but Spock did not give any impression of thinking too hard about his answer.

"I am afraid I have to decline your offer, Captain." He politely responded.

"Why is that?" Jim questioned with curiosity clear in his stance. "And it's Jim when we're off duty."

"It would be illogical to partake in such an activity where the objective holds no clear benefit, and it would be disrespectful to not call you by your title."

"It's called a _game_, Spock. Its 'objective' is to have fun and relax, and screw formality."

"I do not see how hitting a small ball made out of…"

"Spock, that's not the point," Jim cut in once again. "It's a fun activity, the themes of the courses are usually pretty fun, and it's something that we don't have the chance to do all the time." It actually looked like Spock was considering it for a few moments, but was quick to express his displeasure at the activity.

"Fine, your loss, I'll just have to try a lot more harder next time – whenever it may be – to get you to join me since no one else will." It may have been childish, but Jim secretly hoped that as he was walking away, Spock watching his retreating back, that the other would feel guilty at spoiling a potential fun time for the captain. But any thoughts of remorse were quickly swept away when an urgent matter took Spock's attention to another part of the _Enterprise_.

It wasn't until several months later when the opportunity for mini gold arose again, and Jim was determined to get Spock to play with him. But unfortunately the situation on the planet would not allow for them to play their version of the game. So of course Jim was even more indomitable in his pursuit to find a mini golf course to get his First Officer to play a game of it with him.

When the prospect of being able to play a game of mini golf finally did come up, and it was feasible this time, Jim was relentless in his quest to get Spock to say yes. The opening came up when they had to stop by a developing colony to deliver supplies. Normally Jim would have shown some sort of protest at the boring assignment given by Starfleet to keep up appearances, but he knew how important the supplies can be, and he also discovered that a small mini gold course was created to keep the children happy and occupied in their spare time if they wanted to play a game. So Jim continued to badger Spock all the way there, eventually succumbing to appealing to the logical side of the game, even if it was a bit of a stretch. Eventually Spock caved in and agreed, but for the mathematical and scientific reasons only of course.

* * *

The day was rather nice, a bit on the warmer side, but the little bit of sweat did not deter Jim in his sense of success at getting the Vulcan to say yes to playing mini golf with him. The captain looked over at his friend while one of the colonists was getting some balls and putters for them, and he was pleased to see that Spock was looking out at the course before them with interest – or at least what looked like interest to Jim – the hot weather not bothering him at all.

Jim paid the rather cute colonist for their game – _Meghan, Molly was her name?_ – and handed one of the putters and a golf ball to Spock who in turn gingerly grasped both in either hand. They walked over to where the first hole was situated, and Jim turned and asked,

"You want to go first, or me?"

"The order that we go in is of no importance to me." Jim sighed and placed his own ball down on the mat at the opening of the first hole – a simple straight shot to where the hole in the ground was as a way to be an easy first one. The blonde haired man hit his ball and easily made a hole in one. Spock raised an eyebrow and placed his own ball where Jim's was previously, still inwardly questioning the point of the game. He took a brief, calculating look at the path the golf ball was to take, figured out how hard he had to hit it, and also made a hole in one.

"See, it's not so bad once you start, right?"

"As the first hole was designed to be the easiest, I cannot yet give an accurate statement on my thoughts about this game." Spock concluded.

"Alright then, onto the next hole!" the energetic man _boy_ ran over to the next one in line and set his ball down to be in position. The path for this next hole was curved and had several small bumps along the way. Jim made it in with four hits – "the sun was in my eyes, otherwise I would have got it in par" was his excuse. Spock on the other hand took more time that Kirk ever did, mentally performing several calculations based on the most logical way to get the ball into the hole with the least amount of hits. He made it in with two hits.

They continued on through the game hitting the ball through tunnels, under bridges, and ricocheted off rocks. Sometime Jim actually hit less than Spock on a few holes, but on a majority of them the Vulcan's logic prevailed, and for lack of a better term, he kicked Jim's ass in the game. It was when they came to the last hole when the problems started. Jim was able to finish the last hole with hardly any issues in three hits, and moved aside for Spock to take his turn.

In Spock's eyes, it didn't look like the hole was all that difficult, and Jim leaned against his putter while watching his friend once again go all mathematical on the game, though this time was different. What Spock didn't see was the slight incline around the hole that would deflect the ball away.

Spock hit the ball off the rocks on the side, narrowly avoiding the pit of sand in the center of the path, and watching as it came to a rest at the apex of the U shaped design. He slowly walked over to the ball, expecting it to be an easy last hit if his calculations were correct, and didn't bother to recheck the hole one last time, confident in his previous estimates.

He placed his feet, gripped the putter in both hands, and gently hit the ball with as much force necessary to get it in the hole – if it didn't have slightly raised ground around it that caused it to roll innocently away. That got Spock's attention, as well as caused Jim to snicker at the failed attempt. The Vulcan slightly scrunched his face in confusion as he looked at the hole as if it did something terrible to him. He stood up straight, smoothed out his uniform, and walked over to where his ball now lay on the other side of the hole a few feet away.

Recalculating the effort and distance once again in his head, he tried hitting the ball into the hole. It harmlessly rolled right at the edge of the hole, and rolled away. Spock clenched his fists for a moment and tried to think of how Jim was able to hit his ball in so easily. He tried again two more times before finally getting it into the hole, much to Jim's amusement.

The walk back to the _Enterprise_ was met with mostly a friendly silence that came from a day out in the sun, the only interruption to Spock's thoughts being Jim asking if he enjoyed the game.

"It was," he paused, searching for the right word. "Intriguing, Captain."

"Enough with the cap-, you know what, never mind. You just ignore me anyways. But I'm glad that you at least didn't completely hate the experience." Jim kicked a small rock as they continued walking along the path that would take them back to their home.

"Despite what I previously thought, I do see the mathematical benefits for the mind when playing." What Spock would not admit though was how much that last hole still bothered him. He was determined to discover how the captain was able to make it in three hits while it took him five before succeeding.

When they were back aboard the Starfleet flagship, Spock went to his room and started to draw up the design for the last hole on one of his PADDs. He spent the several hours before he was due to be on the bridge thinking about the hole, and what he did wrong. Based on his calculations, he should have gotten it in with only two hits, but what his calculations were missing was the involvement of the slight angle to the ground surrounding the hole.

On the bridge, Spock was still thinking about it, but didn't let it fully distract him from his duties as both First Officer and as Science Officer. But in the few moments of free time here and there when he would usually have small conversations with the others on the bridge who also had a spare moment, he was quiet in his chair, and had a pensive look on his face. The others didn't dare interrupt his thoughts, so they let him be. He was still performing his duties, and this wasn't the first time something was on his mind enough to warrant this in-depth of thought.

It wasn't until it happened more often than not when Jim cornered Spock when they both were off duty and was able to question him about what was on his mind so much lately.

"Nothing can be on my mind as my brain is protected by cerebrospinal fluid and my skull." Jim could've sworn that he saw a faint glint of mischief in the Vulcan's eyes as he let his head fall back and hit the wall he was leaning against.

"Let me rephrase that, what have you been thinking about so much these past few weeks?"

"It is of no prominence, but if you feel that it is impairing my abilities on the _Enterprise_, then I shall gladly cease the thoughts." Jim shook his head and was about to say something in turn, but was interrupted by a message from Scotty on his communicator calling him down to engineering.

The last hole continued to bother Spock more than he would ever admit for another few weeks before Jim finally learned about what it was that was taking up a lot of his First Officer's time. He had made his way to Spock's room to ask for his opinion on something, but it was soon forgotten when he saw a model of the last hole filling up a portion of the room.

"This has been what's been on your mind all this time?" Jim asked with an astonished look on his face paired with some laughter. A slight tint of green formed at the tips of Spock's ears as he confirmed his captain's question.

Jim walked in closer to get a better look at the hole laid out in front of him and inspected it. From what he could remember, it was pretty much accurate down to the very last detail, except for one thing.

"You know, in case you're wondering, you're missing the small, inclined mound that surrounds the hole…"

It's safe to say that the next time Spock played mini golf with Jim – though he would deny the enjoyment he found when playing – he carefully inspected each hole much to his friend's delight. Also, any hole that had a slight incline around it would immediately be subjected to an extra amount of scrutiny under a venom filled glare – another action that Spock would deny on all accounts till the day he died.


End file.
